Shawdesh desk:

A Dhaka court fixed March 8 to hold hearing on charge framing in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman passed the order at a temporary courtroom of the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-9 at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

Today (January 18) was set for holding hearing on charge framing against Khaleda Zia, but she could not appear in the court because of illness. Subsequently, her lawyer requested the court adjourn the hearing.

Khaleda’s lawyer Zia Uddin Zia confirmed the matter.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by that deal.

Khaleda is now behind the bar following an executive order after being convicted in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on February 8, 2018. She was sentenced to five-year imprisonment, which later enhanced to 10 by the High Court.